Original compositions by Daniel W. Boothe
Demonstration recordings for Cane River Music Distribution

Trinitas - USAF Band of Mid-America

In The Shadow Of Pines - ANG Band Of The Southwest

Spirit Of The Season IV

Spirit Of The Season Overture - USAF Band Washington D.C.

A patriotic novelty work featuring Tuba, Piccolo, Triangle and Large Ensemble! Commissioned by and Dedicated to Kay Logan for the Chautauqua Community Band, New York (2009). A piccolo soloist insists on being heard but keeps playing the wrong solo. After going back and forth with the tuba, guest trianglist and the ensemble, the full ensemble finally permits.  By the end, the various "fireworks" throughout the piece converge into one big fiery finale!

FIREWORKS! by Daniel W. Boothe

This sketched piece was written to honor the fallen throughout the World Wars.  I became very saddened the more I learned about war and the costs to so many.  I composed this piece in approximately 40 hours in the music studio of Salisbury State University.  It was debuted at a music technology class in session at the time.  

Movement I:  "D-Day"
- Begins with the beaches of Normandy before the invasion. 
- The invasion begins and you can hear the struggle of so many as they faced sheets of water and bullets while pushing toward the beach head. 

Movement 2:  "Third Reich" 
- This is a march of obedience but also of death.  It is meant to convey the incredibly persuasive and unfortunate way that Hitler won over his patrons.  Also, there is a hint of "a march of the dead" meant to symbolize those being marched into death camps.  I experimented using my original music and overlaying some clips from "Les Misérables" to achieve certain effects. 

Movement 3:  "My Country"
- Here I imagined the American soldier, perhaps in a moment of solitude or reflection  thinking about home, about family, about the things cherished the most.  
- In the middle, there is a hint of worry ... of trepidation for what is ahead in battle.  
- But it ends with a rousing "call to service!"  A fanfare and "My Country Tis of Thee" reflects on the unwavering courage, commitment, and patriotism that would be required.

Movement 4:  "Conflict" 
- This was the most difficult movement to write.  I wanted to take it in a more literal direction.  I wanted to create a sense of "this is too much ... it has to stop" because that is what I could only assume real soldiers felt in the heat of battle.  Against the dissonance, the battle fire and bombs, the United States National Anthem roars through triumphantly ... evoking even more fire in return.  We keep fighting, with an entire U.S. population working back in the factories, in the communities, and doing all that could be done to help in the war effort. 
- Finally, the anthem concludes with the most decisive blow the United States could offer to end the war ...

Movement 4:  "Hiroshima"
- This depicts one of the two atomic bombs that fell.  I aimed to depict the utter devastation with cities leveled with hardly a soul remaining and everything just grey and colorless. 
- It is somewhat understated.  The simplicity behind this movement was intended to communicate the near wordless shock that overcame the world when they saw what this weapon could do. 

Movement 5:  "Take Me Home"
- Now the war is over.  It's time to come home.  And here in this final movement I imagined a U.S. soldier being flown away ... surviving the war and now going home.  But as they fly away, they think about so many who died.  They think about the horror that they had just survived and wonder if they will ever be normal again.  They think about all the pain and suffering and ugliness of war ... while feeling grateful that they will land on U.S. soil soon enough. 

This was a student composiion, created with crude tools that I was using for the first time, namely a 4 track reel-to-reel recorder.  This was my first experience with mixing boards, patch bays, reel-to-reel, and so forth.  I had to master it down to a cassette tape which is why the quality is so bad.  Plus, the taped recording is almost 20 years old and it shows.  

However, it is an honest and sincere attempt of a young man trying to grapple with the tremendous forces of good and evil in this world; musically seeking a way to portray the many facets of humanity that are defined in what we call "war."  

(Daniel W. Boothe, 2012)

"World War Symphony" (1996)

A digital music improvisation depicting human brain activity. 

"The Brain" Digital Improvistation (1997)

Just a little song I wrote in the autumn of 2011 to accompany a video I made of my daughter playing in the leaves.  

"Autumn Watlz"

My parents grew up, met and fell in love on Chincoteague Island, Virginia. They had two boys. References to both are included in this special song I wrote and performed with my wife, Andrea for their 40th Wedding Anniversary. No matter its personal nature, hopefully it has a feel and sentiment that anyone could relate to or at least aspire toward.

Colors Of Our Love (Anniversary Song for Mom and Dad) by Daniel and Andrea Boothe

So this footage is from an open rehearsal of the Radford University Jazz Band, Wayne Gallops, director around 2004 or 2005. I was playing drums and I think Brian Erskine was lead trumpet. The tune is "Channel One Suite" famously recorded by Buddy Rich and his band. Unfortunately my bass drum pedal came separated from the drum at one point. And a floor tom which was standing on a drumstick (as a leg) even fell over. You can hear me asking for someone to put things back together while I kept playing (we needed to upgrade our gear)! I think we took the tempos up to save time while our guests were with us. For example, I didn't have time to do a big solo in the middle but I did go Turbo on the single-strokes at the end! I was fortunate to have some fun cats to play and learn with during my undergraduate days. Jazz brought us together then. It still can now.

RU Jazz

Channel One Suite (Radford U. Jazz Band with D. Boothe on Drums)

Composer, conductor, performer, producer in the performing arts.  

Daniel W. Boothe

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